Launch, through the expertise of the five national partners, has supported 15 cross-sector teams from 14 states since 2022 to identify and advance policies and strategies in education and workforce systems that promote economic mobility for all learners. Launch also aims to create greater scale and sustainability in states’ college and career pathways systems.
Over the past two years of collaboration, Launch leaders and participants learned a great deal about the conditions that must be in place to advance high-quality, accessible, and sustainable pathways systems related to the framework of five levers that are critical for driving lasting systems change: policy, funding, partnerships, data, and equity. This blog series elevates state-level examples featured in Conditions For Sustainable and Equitable Pathways Systems of how state CTE leaders are building college and career pathways for scale and sustainability.
College and career pathways policies affect multiple systems, including K–12 and postsecondary education and the public workforce system, as well as both state and local agencies and institutions. As such, these policies must take a systemic and cohesive approach; build on best practices in the field; and where possible, be informed by data. Below are three examples of how states from the Launch initiative are using policy to build college and career pathways for scale and sustainability.
Maryland
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future was developed from recommendations made by the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, which met from 2017 to 2019. Enacted into law in 2021, the Blueprint aims to provide equitable access to high-quality education to all Maryland learners, enhance learner outcomes, and strengthen the state’s workforce. In 2023, the Maryland State Department of Education and each of the state’s 24 local education agencies developed Blueprint Implementation Plans to chart a path toward meeting the goals articulated in the Blueprint’s five pillars, including those in Pillar Three: College Career.
The Blueprint’s College and Career Readiness pillar establishes a clear, statewide vision for college and career readiness. It promotes rigorous standards to ensure that learners are prepared for success after high school and calls for the expansion of dual enrollment, college and career pathways, and opportunities to earn industry-recognized credentials. For example, the Blueprint has set goals for expanding Career Technical Education (CTE) and ambitious targets for learner participation programs leading to an industry-recognized occupational credential, notably that 45% of public high school learners will graduate having completed the high school level of a Registered Apprenticeship or another industry-recognized credential.
Colorado
Colorado is approaching cross-sector priorities and challenges by aiming to build more policy coherence and alignment. Colorado’s Secondary, Postsecondary, and Work-Based Learning Integration Task Force (“1215 Task Force”)was charged with developing and recommending policies to expand programs that integrate secondary, postsecondary, and work-based learning (WBL) opportunities in every region of the state. The Colorado Department of Education, the Colorado Department of Higher Education, the Colorado Community College System, and the Colorado Workforce Development Council co-chaired the task force, which produced a final report in December 2023 with interconnected recommendations focused on program modernization, access, awareness and value, sustainable funding, and partnerships.
Specifically, the task force found opportunities for greater policy coherence, including the need for the state’s current accountability system to fully measure how schools and districts prepare their learners for postsecondary education and the workforce. The 1241 Task Force work culminated in a November 2024 report detailing the recommended improvements to the way Postsecondary & Workforce Readiness opportunities are measured, recognized, rewarded, and incentivized within the accountability frameworks.
Illinois
In 2015, the Illinois House of Representatives adopted a resolution calling for the development of the Illinois Pathways Interagency Committee, which included participation from the Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Community College Board, Illinois Board of Higher Education, Illinois Student Assistance Commission, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and Illinois Department of Employment Security. The goal was for this body to develop a shared statewide strategy for better preparing high school graduates for success in college and career. The resolution led to the formation of four advisory committees focused on distinct strategy areas for improving learner outcomes, engaging more than 120 stakeholders to build consensus around a set of recommendations. In 2016, House Bill (H.B.) 5729 was introduced, which incorporated the work of the advisory committees and community feedback. The bill was passed and signed into law in July 2016, establishing the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness (PWR) Act.
Critically, the PWR Act aims to require and support coordinated efforts among school districts, postsecondary education institutions, employers, and other public and private organizations to implement four aligned strategies to address key barriers to the successful transition of Illinois high school learners into college and careers.
One key strategy was the development of a Postsecondary and Career Expectations (PaCE) framework. To further institutionalize a key aspect of this law and build more policy cohesion, in 2022, the state adopted a new policy requiring that school districts establish career pathway endorsement programs and adopt either the model Illinois PaCE Framework or a customized version during the coming years. Various agencies in the state have collaborated to develop joint implementation tools to both support and learn from local implementation efforts.
Dive into additional state examples and the conditions that enable accessible and sustainable high-quality pathways systems at scale across the five levers of policy, funding, partnerships, data, and equity in the first publication from the Launch initiative Conditions For Sustainable and Equitable Pathways Systems.
